Kingdom Hearts: Yen Sid Origins
by Lt.Random
Summary: This is a fanfic about the origins of the former Keyblade Master, Yen Sid.
1. Chapter 1

**____****Author's note:**  
-Okay I'm just going to point out right now that this story consists mainly of new, self-made characters.  
-If you feel there's a number of problems with the story, do tell me. I'm looking to improve my stories.  
-Enjoy

Chapter 1:_The Dark Blade Rises_

With Kairi's training complete, Lea's skills improved and no doubt that Sora and Master Riku were ready, yen Sid sent them out on their journey along with Donald and Goofy. Mickey stayed behind.

"Master Yen Sid, do you think they can do it?', Mickey asked the tall, old man standing in front of the window.  
A small flash of light and something appeared in his hand, something he held dear. Mickey could only make out a small, silvery glow.  
"I _do_ hope they can Mickey", Yen Sid replied as his mind went on to recall his past...

The waves crashed against the shore as the Sun got lower. They had decided to go to the beach that day. The two sat near one of many rocks across the beach. A young and lovely eighteen-year old examined the beautiful blue lining on the rocks while, next to her, her boyfriend sat reading a book. Underneath his short grey hair there was a clear sign of frustration. She giggled.  
He threw his book on the soft beach sand.  
"Agh, I hate this stupid subject", he exclaimed.  
"I know hun, but you need to pass that test. Your grades are falling, Yen", she told him.  
"Yeah, but...why astrology!? Like I'm ever going to go all 'Oh the stars tell me things'!", Yen said, imitating their Astrology teacher. He really hated studying about the subject. She laughed.  
"Oh come on it's not _that_ bad. Astrology's really fun", she tried to convince him. She kissed his cheek. "Come on you'll ace that test".  
Yen sighed and picked up his book. She could never really fail to convince him.  
"Fine, but you're going to help me", Yen demanded.  
"It's a deal", she smiled, her long, black hair blew in the wind.

Just then came a voice from behind them."Evening lovebirds".  
Yen turned around to see his best-friend already seated on the rock behind them. "Oh Saito, where were you?",Yen asked.  
"Ah just hanging around by the plains", he shrugged."So what are you and Anna up to?".  
"Well i'm supposed to be helping Yen with Astrology", Anna answered.

"Oh yeah the test!". He put his hand on Yen's shoulder, "you're screwed, you know that, right?", Saito blurted out, at which point Anna gave him an annoyed look.  
"Um thanks for the support?", Yen muttered.  
"No problem buddy, I always got your back", Saito replied cheerfully. Anna face-palmed.

For a while they remained quiet. Simply admiring the sunset, that matched the sound of the waves perfectly.  
"So, Saito, how's your preparation going?", Anna asked.  
"It's going good", he replied.  
"You're still trying to get there?", Yen asked as he and Anna turned around.  
"Well yeah", Saito got off the rock and turned towards the city and looked at the large floating castle at the center."I know it's tough, but one day I wanna go in that castle and be one of the Guardians. Our world is the only one closest to Kingdom Hearts so we're pretty much meant to protect it", he explained.  
"Protect it? From what?", Yen asked, looking bored.  
"Um, the war?", Saito replied.  
Yen turned back towards the sea."They won't make it this far. Trust me", Yen assured him.

Saito looked towards the large, heart shaped figure, floating near the castle. Anna noticed a bit of tension and worry on his face  
Just then they heard the sound of a bell ringing. They could see nearby people getting up and heading towards the city. An armored man on a Keyblade Glider floated nearby."Public announcement, please proceed to the Skyscraper", he shouted.  
"We should go", Anna urged them.

At that moment another armored person appeared floating on a glider right in front of them.  
"You three, get moving! Don't you know what the bells mean?", the person yelled in, what was clearly, a woman's voice. The trio immediately got to their feet and proceeded to the city.  
"Do you guys think it's about the war?", Saito asked.  
"It might be. We'll find out soon enough", Yen replied as the three approached the large crowd in front of the skyscraper. Armored soldiers hovered around on their gliders nearby.

Meanwhile, in the castle...  
A group of men sat in a circle in a large room. Each of them had a look of seriousness on his face. Although serious expressions were common, this time there was a discussion that created an atmosphere of fear, though it was well hidden behind their expressions. "Galanort has been gaining power", one of them finally spoke.  
"He seems to be stronger than we thought and his power keeps growing", another one spoke. All the chairs were in a perfect circle and were all of he same height."My men have fought this man. The only survivor says-"  
"We know that, Master Koshi. He's managed to create a dark copy of the X-blade, but that does not make him invincible!", another man interrupted.  
"It doesn't, Master Oraka? Creating a dark copy is something no one thought could be done and yet here we are facing a threat to the light!",Koshi yelled.  
"Calm yourself, Master Koshi",a man with brown hair slammed his fist on the table.  
"Calm myself? In a matter like this?!", Koshi was outraged.  
"Everyone QUIET!", an old, yet strong looking man yelled, "we will not stop Galanort by arguing among ourselves. We came here to discuss our next move and that is what we are going to do!", his words were firm and the atmosphere settled a bit.  
"Yes Master Galleon, you're right", Oraka spoke.  
"Now then, we know Galanort's forces have taken several worlds and used the light in them to forge their own keyblades, but Galanort is seeking something more than just war. He wants the real X-blade!", Galleon explained.

"The King has sensed a disturbance in Kingdom Hearts. Will anyone care to explain that?", Oraka asked.  
"I can", the brown haired man spoke. What you're about to hear might shock you".  
"Carry on", Koshi encouraged.  
The man took a deep breath and began speaking," Galanort's men have been using special devices. The light that Master galleon mentioned that are being used to forge fake Keyblades..those lights...are hearts!".  
All the men in the room looked at each other.  
"They use these strange devices", he continued," to suck out the hearts and then use them for their own agenda. And when hearts disappear, darkness gains power, or in this case- Galanort gains power".  
"Harvesters", Oraka muttered.

"You've heard of these?", Galleon asked.  
"Yes. They are wretched weapons of pure evil. they suck out a person's heart and convert them into energy", Oraka replied and looks of fear were exchanged across the room. They were facing an enemy with the power to suck out their hearts and it was clear he was coming for their's.  
Master Galleon got up. "Very well then, as guardians of the Realm Of Light, we will protect this world and make sure Galanort never gets the X-blade. Now, if you excuse me gentlemen I have to go give an announcement. We will discuss this further when i return", he spoke and then left through a Light portal.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2: **__Bad Time , Bad Place..._

There was a lot of noise, mainly from people discussing about what the announcement could be. Yen over heard the word "war" at least four times. A few feet away from them was the entrance to the skyscraper, since it was a few feet above the ground Yen assumed that's where the announcement would be given from.

The bell tolled once more and everything went silent, except for the slight noise coming out of the nearby Keyblade gliders hovering at all looked around, it was certainly a huge crowd. A light portal opened at the entrance of the skyscraper and the well known Master Galleon stepped out. The crowd remained silent.

"Good day to you all", he began to speak,"I'm sure there have been many rumours about the ongoing war and I will admit, Galanort's forces are stronger than we anticipated, but fear not. The Guardians of the Realm Of Light will not let this magnificent world fall into the wrong hands". He became quiet, staring at the crowd as if expecting a question.  
"Still think they won't make this far, Yen?', Saito asked in a low voice. Yen didn't reply.  
"However", Galleon continued,"one can not be too careful. We Guardians have decided that a curfew will be enforced and that NO ONE will leave the Realm until the war is either over or Galanort's men have been pushed back. The curfew will begin by dusk, that means eeryone must be inside by nightfall. Anyone caught violating the curfew will be apprehended. Also, the glider and the light portals are going to be watched to ensure that nobody leaves. These are being done for your own safety. I bid you all farewell now". A light portal opened and he was gone.

The noise returned as everyone exchanged worried looks and discussions. The three decided to walk away.  
"How much time left till dusk?", Yen asked.  
"We've still got some time", Anna replied.  
"It would be sort of interesting to find out what's happening out there", Saito spoke. Yen immediately stopped.  
"NO. I know exactly what you're thinking and it's a terrible idea", Yen told Saito.  
"Oh come on, it's not like it's gonna be like last time", Saito tried to assure Yen.  
"That's what you _said _about the last time", Yen replied and continued walking.  
"Fair point", Saito shrugged and walked along with them.  
"Well they're watching all the portals so I don't think we'd get very far anyways", Anna suggested.  
"Don't!", Yen immediately yelled putting his hand on Anna's shoulder.  
"Uh..what's wrong?", Anna asked, confused.  
"You're going to give him ideas!", Yen warned.  
"Actually Yen, YOU just gave me an idea!", Saito chuckled,"meet me near the dojo after nightfall!". Saito quickly turned around and ran off.  
"What the?", Yen was confused. Anna sighed.  
"He's finally lost it", Anna commented.  
"Agh, you know i'm gonna have to go after him. That idiot's gonna get himself killed", Yen told Anna.  
"Yeah but then he'll get both of you killed", Anna replied. Yen thought about this for a moment.  
"Look..I know it's dangerous..but he's been there for me plenty of times and i can't just let him go do something stupid on his own. He's clever but sometimes he behaves like a moron so I..yeah I'm gonna go with him. Besides, what's the harm in checking out a few things?".  
"Fine then," Anna sighed,"but I'm coming with you".  
"What?!", Yen was a bit surprised.  
"If you guys are gonna do something stupid you'll need at least one smart person with you", Anna spoke firmly.  
"But-"  
"No 'buts'".  
"Fine", Yen mumbled.

Yen left his house late at night. Sneaking past the guards on patrol, he made his way towards the dojo.  
"Saito, you there?", he whispered.  
"Yep. Anna's here too", came the words from behind him as Saito and Anna walked over to Yen. Yen noticed they were both wearing piece of armor on their arms and that Saito was holding one which was clearly for Yen. Yen took the armor and put it on.  
"Now how do we plan on going?", Yen asked.  
"With this", Saito replied pulling out a strange, glowing blue object.  
"Is this even safe?", Anna asked looking slightly worried.  
"Yeah..kinda", Saito replied as he held out the object.  
"Out your hand on this", he said and both of them did so. A large flash of light and they disappeared into a small, blue orb that flew around wildly as it went into the air and disappeared.

A bright blue light burst in an abandoned city and all three fell to the ground. Yen coughed as he got up and looked around. There was a strange dark fog everywhere that felt very uncomfortable. Around them there were broken keyblades scattered about along with pieces of armour, craters and what appeared to be bodies.  
"I think we're in the wrong place guys", Anna spoke. Saito climbed a nearby boulder to get a better view. They were close to several damaged, abandoned buildings with armor, bodies and keyblades scattered in several places. The place was in ruins.  
"I don't like the looks of this", Yen thought out loud.

Suddenly Saito jumped off and quickly grabbed Yen annd Anna, pulling them behind the boulder.  
"What is it?", Yen asked, slightly irritated by being pulled like that. Saito immediately hushed him.  
Yen heard some noises similar to that of keyblade gliders go over them. He moved forward to get a better look and saw that there were four gliders mounted by men wearing black armor. He knew for a fact that Galanort's men wore black armor as a symbol of their cause-darkness.  
"We need to find some cover", Saito suggested, looking around.  
"Better idea! Maybe we should just go back!", Yen insisted.  
"We can't".  
"Why not?".  
Saito pulled out the object, it was dull and black now. "It needs sometime before we can use it again", he explained.  
"Guys we should get to that building", Anna suggested, pointing to a tall building nearby.  
"Good idea", Saito commented and the three ran towards the building. Unfortunately Yen tripped over a few rocks and, if they're luck wasn't bad enough, they had been spotted!

"Are you okay?", Anna asked, helping him up. Suddenly a large ball of flame hit the ground near them and they noticed the four gliders coming towards them as they shot three more fireballs towards them.  
"Get down!", Saito yelled as he summoned a red and golden Keyblade and cast a large shield which successfully protected them.

The four gliders immediately jumped down and attacked. Each of them had the same, black Keyblade and armor.

Anna was quick and immediately fired several small, blue bolts at two of them while Yen and Saito fought the other two.

To Yen's surprise, the three successfully managed to overpower the attackers and ran before they got up. Nevertheless, they're luck got worse. A large flying ship nearby hovered over to their location. It fired two explosive rounds from it's cannons near the three, causing them to fall down. In the meantime the attackers got up and ran towards them.

Yen's ears were ringing and he could barely hear Saito asking him if he was okay, but he managed to hear another explosion behind them followed by men screaming the word 'ambush'. He turned around to see one side of the ship on fire as it went out of control and headed towards the ground. The number of men behind them were nearly tripled except there was a difference now, a difference that brought him relief. It seemed the men in black armor were being attacked by another group.  
"Yen get up!", Saito yelled as he shook him,"we have to get to cover! Come on!".  
Yen quickly got up, the ringing in his ears fading now and noticed that Anna was already up and ready to run. None of them looked back and immediately ran towards the building.

As they approached it three light portals opened up and an armored soldier stepped out of each of them, pointing their Keyblades at them. A bright orange orb at the tip of each of their Keyblades, indicating their readiness to fire a ball of flame at any time. Yen, Saito and Anna also pulled out their Keyblades and pointed at each of the soldiers with the same orange orb at the tips, except for Anna's keyblade which had a unique blue orb, instead.  
"Don't move!", warned a woman's voice. Saito turned around to see at least eight more soldiers surrounding them.  
They were all wearing the same bronze couloured armor, but their Keyblades were certainly different.

A large armored man walked over to them. He held a large, heavy kyblade capable of breaking down a wall, but he wasn't pointing it at them. In his other hand he held a black, half-broken helmet which still had a bit of smoke coming out of it. He dropped the helmet to the ground, causing Yen and Anna to quicklly turn around and then removed his own helmet to reveal a strong, serious man with short black hair. A blue piece of cloth tied to his arm made it clear that he was the leader of the group.  
He glared at the three and for a moment his and Yen's eyes met, but Yen wasn't afraid, he glared back.  
"Take them back to base", the leader finally spoke, in a deep, firm voice.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3:__Captives_**

They were taken to a large, broken down, abandoned building. There was a dark fog everywhere, one they had noticed from the minute they had reached there. As they went deeper inside it became clear that the building was not abandoned at all. There were several young men and women. Most weren't wearing any armor like their captors did, but they certainly were soldiers.

They stopped at the center of a large room. There were a few wooden crates nearby and several pieces of scrap metal. The roof had a , piece of sheet metal hammered to it. There were only two people in the room who weren't wearing armor. One was checking the crates while the other calmly leaned against a nearby wall, waiting to see what happened next. Yen Saito and Anna were made to stand at least four feet away from each other and each of them was surrounded by three soldiers.  
"Start talking", the man with the blue cloth on his arm-the leader- demanded.  
None of them replied.  
"Fine then", he muttered and then nodded his head towards one of the soldiers  
The soldier kicked Saito at the back of his leg, causing him to kneel, while another pointed his keyblade at the back of his head, producing a small, orange orb at the tip.  
"No!", Yen yelled and tried to break free from the soldiers grasp. He kicked one in the knee and the other in the stomache before running to help Saito. Before he could see it, a large armored fist hit him in the face.  
Yen fell to his back only to get up and see three keyblades pointed at him.  
"Don' make a move!", one of the soldiers yelled.  
"Yen!", Anna could only yell, it would be a bad idea to aggrevate them.  
"You're quite a tough guy, I'll give you that", the leader commented.  
"Go to hell", Yen spat out.  
"YEN!", Saito yelled, but not out of fear or worry, but more like ordering him not to do anything stupid,"calm down. I can handle this".  
"Well, glad someone decided to negotiate", the leader remarked.

Saito took a deep breath as he quickly decided what he wanted to say.  
"We're from the Realm Of Light, we came here looking for answers", he began.  
"Impossible! All the entrances and exits there are being watched. You expect us to believe they'd let a bunch of..um...eighteen year olds just walk into a war zone?", the leader criticized.  
"We didn't use the light portals or the gliders. We used a Star shard", he calmly replied.  
"A Star shard? And how did you just happen to get one?".  
"I...took it", Saito felt slightly guilty having to say it. Yen and Anna exchanged concerned looks.

"So I assume Master Oraka's not going to be happy about that", he replied, but this time with a lighter tone.  
"...No. Not really".  
The leader looked stared at Saito for a while. His cold, brown eyes practically piercing into his soul. He could easily detect a lie and Saito seemed to be telling the truth.  
"Let them go", he said, causing soldiers to exchange looks."Well? Do it!".  
The soldiers immediately let them go and stepped away in an almost synchronized way.  
"Shane get them some Lognu fruit", he demanded.  
"Yes...sir", the man leaning against the wall responded and then left.  
"Sorry about the harshness, we've had a few traitors lately", he apologized sincerely.

The leader introduced himself as Master Ori (oh-ree) and filled them in on the situation. It seemed Galanort had sent his men to attack this place a few months ago and since then the war has been going on without either side making a breakthrough, _until recently that is!_  
The war had taken many lives in the area, and it was clear Galanort was far from losing. The other soldiers left the room to, except for two which decided to stay and calmly stroll about or just lean against the wall.  
In the mean time Shane had returned with three, small blue cubes.  
"Here eat these", Shane said as he offered each of them a piece.  
"Oh no thank you, we won't really-", Anna began.  
"You don't really have a choice", Shane interrupted.  
"You've had too much exposure to the fog", Master Ori explained upon noticing the confused looks on their faces.  
"The fog?", Yen asked.  
"Yes. Galanort's men have special devices that emit a fog of darkness. If you get exposed to it for too long...well you're definitely a goner", he explained, clearly not wanting to get into the details about what The Fog could do.

Yen, Anna and Saito took the cubes and ate them. They tasted quite bitter.  
"So, how do you plan on explaining to everyone that you broke strict laws and entered a war-zone?", Ori brought up the question almost randomly!  
"Uh..", Yen tried to answer, but realized that he, much like Saito and Anna, had not thought that part through.  
Master Ori was the first time they had seen him smile.

Suddenly they heard a few explosions outside, followed by a man running in to ther room  
"We're under attack. They found us!", he yelled.  
"The ship must have sent a distress signal when we shot it down. Damn it!", Ori yelled as he summoned his Keyblade and made his way outside. The others followed him. Yen, Anna and Saito discussed the option of fighting and soon decided that they would.

One by one they tapped the button on their arm and , out of a short burst of light were covered in armor. Yen and Saito had the same, dull-silver armor, but Anna's was completely different. Her armour and abilities were something only two others beside her possessed. It was mainly silver, but had many blue parts over it. However, one thing that completely distinguished her armour from their's was that she was floating a few inches off the ground!

They heard another explosion and left to join the battle. They were not new to the fighting game, as a matter of fact fact that they were among the best in their world was one of the reasons they agreed to come along on this 'adventure'.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter 4:__Unexpected Reunion_**

Yen, Saito and Anna reached the battlefield to see that everyone in the building was already outside and engaged in fighting with what were clearly Galanort's men. Balls of flame and darkness flew across the barren field. There were dozens of soldiers fighting each other.

Some occasionally used magic while others simply used melee. The sound of keyblades clashing and against each other and explosions echoed over the battlefield. Yen, Saito and Anna were unsure of what to do. They were certainly starting to get cold feet now, after all, there was a big difference between their ordinary Dojo tournament at home and an actual battlefield.  
As they observed the battlefiled, deciding what to do first, they saw something that sent chills down their spines. Not far from them were two large dragons fighting the bronze armoured soldiers. One spat large balls of, not flame, but dark flames! The other roared in pain as a soldier landed a heavy blow to it's leg while another to it's face. We're not going anywhere near those, the three immmediately decided.

They were ready to fight, except, they did not even know what to do, but they didn't have to anyways. An explosion nearby alerted them of the presence of four of Galanort's men running towards them from a small, rocky hill behind them. Yen took a deep breath and ran towards them, followed by Anna and Saito. Their Keyblades clashed repeatedly and it would seem the battle could go on for hours, but it didn't. Before Yen saw it he was struck by a ball of Darkness that sent him flying several feet away, but thankfully, his armour did it's job well, preventing him from taking too much damage. The front of his armor, however, was scorched and had a few cracks.

"_Should have seen that coming_", he told himself and then got back up. Saito had already managed to knock out one of them out and Anna continued shooting blue lasers at them, but was immediately distracted,  
"Yen are you okay?", she asked, unaware of tall, bulky soldier who literally rammed himself into her. Anna fell to the ground  
"Anna!", Yen yelled, running to her aid. The 'big bulk' raised his Keyblade, ready to finish her off.  
"Little pest", he spat out.

Yen couldn't tell if it was on purpose or some sort of reflex, but Anna manged to point her Keyblade toward the soldier just in time. A bright, blue flash and the 'big bulk' stood there like a statue- or in this case- an ice sculpture!  
"_That was just...wow"_, a little voice in Yen's mind commented. But there was no time to pay attention to that. Yen soon realized Saito was still fighting the other two. A bright light appeared on the tip of his Keyblade.  
"Saito get down!", Yen ordered, raising his Keyblade.

Somewhat blindly trusting Yen's skills, Saito immediately ducked without a second thought. Two bolts of lightning emerged, successfully striking both of Galanort's men. One kneeled while the other yelled in pain as he fell to the ground. Saito didn't miss the golden oppurtunity to strike and, two slashes of his Keyblade later, both men lay on the ground. Steam still emanating from their badly damaged and burnt armour.  
"Nice shot", Saito said.  
Anna walked up to the two of them.  
"Are you okay", Yen asked her, checking to see if she hadn't been hurt.  
"Yeah I'm fine", she replied. Yen thought for a minute, about leaving the battle, fearing that Anna could get seriously injured or worse, but he knew she would refuse. He made a mental note to keep an eye on her, Yen couldn't bare to lose her.

Saito looked over at the battlefield. Majority of Galanort's soldiers had been defeated and only a few remained, fighting with the cover of their dragons. There were several small fires at different places and the entire area looked even more scorched and damaged than it did only a few minutes ago, but that wasn't what Saito was concerned about.  
"They have dragons under their control. Not something people can do very easily", he thought.  
"Saito. You ready to take on the rest of them?", Yen asked.

"Oh well somebody's feeling confident today", came a voice several feet away from them, a voice that they did not recognize...or atleast, Saito and Anna didn't recognize.  
The three turned around to see a man standing on top of the hill behind them. He had spiky grey hair and wore, not armor, but a leather coat.  
"YOU!", Yen yelled.  
"Huh? Where have I heard that voi-..oh", the stranger grinned as he noticed Yen's Keyblade. "I didn't expect to see you here".  
Yen removed his helmet. "Get down here and I'll give you a few more things you didn't expect!", he threatened him. Anna ad Saito remained silent. They did not know how Yen knew this man.

"Interesting as your offer sounds, I simply came to check up on the boys in the field", he said, his voice clearly indicating that he was mocking Yen. At that exact moment a loud roar came from the battlefield. Saito and Anna turned around to see one of the dragons falling towards the ground with a loud 'thud', but Yen didn't move. His eyes were glued onto the stranger.

The stranger himself, however, was also looking at the battle. "Worthless", he remarked, seeing the dragon. He looked at the defeated soldiers near Yen and then noticed the one who was frozen. He made a hand-gesture and soon the frozen soldier was covered with a strange dark smoke. The smoke disappeared and so did the ice!  
"Take care of them", he ordered and walked away.  
"What!? GET BACK HERE YOU COWARD!", Yen yelled and then ran after him, dodging the giant, who attempted to stop him. But Yen's way was immediately blocked when three more soldiers rushed over from where the stranger had been standing a few seconds ago.

Yen was in no mood to be stopped. He quickly struck one of the soldiers with his Keyblade and kicked the other in the chest. Yen managed to run past the third and then over the hill, leaving Saito and Anna to deal with the soldiers. It seemed selfish of him, but Yen had a score to settle. One of the soldiers tied to run after Yen, but was immediately struck by several small lasers shot out of Anna's Keyblade.  
"Come here, you", the tall, bulky soldier taunted as he approached her. Anna noticed now, that he wasn't carrying a Keyblade at all! He was actually carrying, what appeared to be, some sort of hammer.

He tried to lash-or more likely- smash Anna with his hammer, but she managed to get out of the way and quickly struck him in the side with her Keyblade. He yelled and tried to hit her again, but Anna ducked and, somehow, jumped up to his face and kicked him twice.  
Saito deflected a ball of flame shot at him and then countered with the same thing. The soldier dodged it and turned back just in time to feel Saito kick him in the chest, sending him flying towards the foot of the hill. Saito then proceeded to fight the other two soldiers. He was doing rather well.

Yen reached an area surrounded by trees. He was sure he was in the middle of a forest. It was clear that even the forest had not been spared by the war. There were burnt trees nearby and somewhere among the trees was a large, destroyed ship. The same one that had attacked him earlier.  
"Where are you? Show yourself!", Yen demanded. A dark portal opened some ten feet away from him.  
"You still insist on fighting me?", came the man's voice as he casually stepped out of the portal.  
"You're damn right i do!".  
The stranger laughed.  
"You mean like the last time you tried to fight me?", he mocked.  
"Shut up!", Yen yelled and raised his Keyblade, ready to fight.

"This...is going to be fun", he gave an evil grin, as dark flames began to cover his body. The flames disappaeared quickly and he was now wearing thick, black armor, which was very distinguishable from the other soldiers'. A long, black Keyblade, which looked like a description of the word 'death' appeared in his hand.

Anna hovered about, quickly moving from place to place and shooting the big bulk. One second he was being shot in the leg, the next she had managed to jump over him and shoot him from above.  
"AGH She's too fast!", he exclaimed as Anna fired yet another series of lasers, this time from behind. He tried to swing his hammer, but missed and was shot at again..and again and again. He was running out of energy now and his armor was beginning to crack.  
One last strike and Saito had finished off the third of the soldiers, though he wouldn't take all the credit as Anna certainly helped out every once in a while.  
One last kick and the 'big bulk' fell to the ground with a heavy thud. For a moment Saito felt as if the ground shook, but he dismissed it as an exaggeration. Without saying another word Anna quickly ran towards the hill and over it. For a minute Saito was ocnfused, but then remembered that Yen had rushed off to fight the stranger on his own. He went after her.

( /musi...ation-xiii/282/ )  
A ball of flame struck him in the chest and sent him flying for the third time. His armor was badly damaged and he had run out of energy. Yen dragged himself to a nearby rock and used it to try to stand up. Although exhausted himself, the stranger quickly shot a spray of ice and froze Yen's arm and his Keyblade along with it. He lowered his Keyblade.  
"Well...I...certainly underestimated you, Yen", he panted.  
"You haven't...won yet", Yen tried to speak. The man walked closer to Yen and placed his Keyblade against Yen's throat.  
"So weak", he mumbled.  
"SHUT UP!", Yen yelled.  
"Now, now Yen that's not how you talk to your big brother", he grinned.  
"You're not my brother! Not after what you did to our father!", Yen snapped.  
"YOUR father Yen, not mine. Besides, he didn't give me a choice. He shouldn't have gotten in my way".  
"He was trying to protect you damnit", Yen yelled.

"Aww don't get so emotional Yen", he mocked and then pushed his Keyblade a bit harder towards Yen's throat. "I should kill you right now, but I've got bigger things to do".  
From among the woods came voices calling out to Yen.  
"Oh you're friends. Wish I could say hi, but I've wasted enough time", he said and then a dark portal opened behind him. He turned around and walked towards it.  
"You haven't won yet! Next time we meet, I will finish you", Yen threatened.  
"I'm looking forward to it, Yen. As a matter of fact I plan on paying a visit to our dear home soon with my own friends. And when we take over that pathetic world, you and I can have as many fights as you want...well atleast until you die", the man laughed and entered the portal.

"Yen?", came the voices, closer but stilll looking for him.  
"O-Over..here!", Yen managed to yell the two words. Soon Anna and Saito came throught the woods, but they weren't alone. Master ori and a few other soldiers came along with them.  
"Yen!", Anna exclaimed as she rushed over to him.  
"Did that man do this to you?", Ori asked, but Yen didn't reply.  
"Hold still", one of the soldiers said as he applied some strange, orange thing to Yen's frozen arm and the ice soon melted.  
Saito didn't say much, except for one question. "Was it him, Yen?", he asked. Yen looked at Saito. The look on his eyes said it all.  
Anna hugged Yen. "Don't ever do that again! We could have lost you", she cried.

They had just been in a real battle and both of them had come close to losing each other, and Saito, although he fought well could not ignore the fact that he could have lost his bestfriends.


	5. Chapter 5

_****__**Chapter 5:** Too late..._  


"Was it him, Yen?"

_**Only now that I look back at that moment, do I realize who they were talking about. It should have occurred to me sooner, but I was more concerned about other things. I watched as Saito and Yen kept trying to figure a way out. It was clear they felt outraged. All three of us were and for good reason. The refused to listen to us. It seems they were more concerned about the fact that we had stolen a star shard, ignored the curfew and gotten ourselves into a battlefield...**_

_A blue flash of light and all three of them appeared near the dojo, but they weren't alone. They found themselves surrounded by six guards, Master Oraka and Master Galleon, both of whom certainly weren't happy.__  
__"Master-", Yen began to talk, but was stopped.__  
__"DON'T! You stol-", he suddenly noticed the wounds on them, mainly Yen,"...where…did you go?", he asked, slowly, but furiously.__  
__"We kind of...ran into Galanort's men", Saito answered, ready to watch Oraka go apeshit on them.__  
__Both the masters were shocked.__  
__"You what?! You could have gotten killed!", he yelled. The guards didn't move a muscle; they simply stood there like statues in a perfect circle around them. The trio remained silent.__  
__"Master you have to listen to u-", Anna tried to explain, but was stopped by a single hand-gesture from Master Oraka._

_"That's enough Anna!", Master Galleon silenced her.__  
__"I am disappointed in you Yen", Oraka lectured," I would expect Saito to do something like this but not you!".__  
__"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?", Saito said.__  
__"Do not interrupt your teacher young man!", Galleon snapped. Saito fell silent and Yen and Anna felt it was no use to speak now._

_"Escort them to the castle!", Oraka ordered, still furious."Hardly eighteen years old and sneaking off to fight a war", he muttered like an angry parent, but then again, he WAS Yen's Godfather.__  
__Yen turned around and looked furiously at Oraka. "Korro left when he was fifteen and he looked perfectly fine to me", Yen said.__  
__"Y-your brother was there?", Oraka asked, trying not to look shocked. Yen didn't respond. The guards walked him, Anna and Saito into a light portal that had just opened._

**_Korro. Korro Sid, better known in this world as 'the traitor'. Yen never talked much about him. All I knew was that he killed Yen's father right after he joined Galanort's forces and betrayed the Realm of Light. Their mother had already passed away before that.  
Up until our recent encounter, it was assumed that he had died. Yen hated Korro and all it would take is one glance at him to know that he was thinking about his brother...thinking about settling the score with him, once and for all..._**

_It was in one of those days when Galanort was beginning to rise to power. A dark day it was indeed. A young, scared boy, hardly fourteen years old reached the dojo only to find it on fire. A few men lay on the ground, one of which he ran to.__  
__"Father! Father!", he yelled out to the injured man. Grey haired and looking so much like his son.__  
__"Y-Yen", he tried to speak.__  
__"Father, please! Talk to me", he yelled, tears starting to appear in his eyes._

_Not far echoed the sounds of the sirens as guards ran around, some still fending off the attackers. Smoke rose from multiple places across the city.__  
__A flash of light and a Keyblade appeared in the man's hand.__  
__"T-t-take this", he muttered as he gave Yen his Keyblade.__  
__"No! I won't! It's your's a-and you'll use it to..stop whoever did this!", Yen yelled, tears streaming down his cheeks. His father gave a weak smile, which soon turned into a frown. A tear strolled down his scarred cheek._  
_"I-i have failed a-as a fa..ther..._"  
_"No! Don't say that!", Yen yelled. His father cast another weak smile and handed him the Keyblade.__  
__"I kn-know...y-you'll do what's r-right", he whispered and suddenly his arm fell to the ground. His head leaned to the side as he stared blankly.__  
__"No! Father! FATHER!", Yen yelled, as if hoping it would bring him back. He tried to hold his tears.__Out of the corner of his eye, Yen saw a figure walking away. He quickly picked up the Keyblade and ran after it, he knew who it was.__  
__"KORRO!', Yen yelled as he appeared from behind. Korro turned around. There were a few armoured men with him.__  
__"You guys go, I'll deal with this", Korro said and the others entered a dark portal one by one._

_"How could you!?", Yen yelled, Keyblade in hand.__  
__"I don't need to explain myself to you", he replied coldly.__  
__"You lousy!", Yen ran towards him and attacked, but Korro was too good, especially for someone who had never used the Keyblade before. He dodged and then kicked Yen in the stomache. Yen got back up immediately and tied to strike again.__  
__This time Korro blocked with his own Keyblade and punched Yen. Before Yen could turn around he was struck again and fell to the ground.__  
__"At least learn to use that thing first", he laughed. Yen, too weak to move, watched as Korro opened a dark portal and left._

**_...and that was when Yen had last seen his brother, up until now at least. _**

They heard footsteps outside. It was clearly a guard.  
"That's it! Anna, can you knock him out?", Saito whispered.  
"Yes...but won't we get in trouble?", Anna asked.  
"If we don't go warn them now we'll be in bigger trouble", Saito replied.  
"He's coming", Yes whispered. Anna summoned her Keyblade. The guards had originally placed a charm to make that impossible, but Anna knew how to disable it.  
A flash of light and he fell to the ground and, lucky for them, there was a key attacked to his hip. Yen got down and tried to reach for it, making sure not to touch the laser rods that prevented them from exiting, even by use of magic. Saito and Anna simply stood there and watched as Yen failed to reach the keys.  
"Yen?", Saito said.  
"What?", Yen asked.  
"Use...a Keyblade..?.", he muttered, looking rather amused.  
"Oh..right...", Yen felt stupid. He summoned his Keyblade and managed to reach for the keys. He unhooked them from the guard's hip and pulled them inside.

Anna took the keys and placed them inside the lock carefully. After two tries she got it right and the laser rods were shut off. They immediately ran towards the upper part of the castle.  
On their way up they found one of the Guardians.  
"What are you doing outside!?", he yelled, summoning his Keyblade.  
"No! Master Koshi wait! Please listen to what we have to tell you", Anna spoke and, to her surprise, he actually lowered his Keyblade.  
"What is it?", he asked in a slightly rude tone, but that wasn't anyone's concern.  
The three then proceeded to tell him of Galanort's men planning to attack. Master Koshi looked shocked.  
"Why didn't you speak up then!?", he yelled.  
"We tried! Nobody listened!", Saito yelled and then, realizing he had raised his tone, he apologized.  
"Come with me", Koshi said and then ran back up the odd, glass staircase.

They found Master Oraka and another Guardian near the entrance to the 'Main room'.  
"Oraka! We have to warn everyon-", Koshi immediately stopped as he heard explosions outside.  
"What is it Koshi?", he asked, worried, now that he heard explosions.

"We're too late", Yen spoke, as looks of terror appeared on everyone's face.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Chapter 6: Invasion**_

The six of them reached a white terrace where a sort of soothing white mist loomed close to the floor, the same mist that loomed over the entire castle and was said to be made of light, but they were much more concerned about the dozens of Keyblade gliders that had suddenly appeared in the skies, strafing the ground with dark flames and ice as ground troops moved in to attack the guards.

The sirens were sounded and screams were heard from the city as guards quickly flew up into the sky to engage the attackers, trying to ignore the fact that they were outnumbered. Three gliders flew towards them and attempted to attack, but Master Oraka immediately raised his keyblade into the air and watched as three bolts of lightning came down and successfully struck all three of them. They let out a blood curdling scream as two of them fell out of the sky and towards the ground, perhaps no less than two hundred feet below. The other fell in front of them and tried to get up, but, before he could see it coming, Yen quickly struck him with his Keyblade.

"Koshi, you and Master Rhyme take a group of guards and get to the Skyscraper. I'll head over to the King's chamber and _you three_ find some place safe!", Master Oraka yelled orders and ran up the stairs as two more guards appeared a few feet away from him and shot a ball of flame at the gliders. "You two come with me", he yelled as he continued running. They turned around and followed.  
Master Koshi and the other guardian (Master Rhyme) quickly activated their armor, threw their Keyblades in front of them and quickly hopped on as they instantly converted into gliders. Yen, Saito and Anna watched as the two masters flew towards the Skyscraper, successfully shooting down any of Galanort's men that got in the way.

Saito tapped the button on his arm and was soon covered with armor.  
"Saito what are you doing!?", Anna asked.  
"You really wanna stay up here and hide?", he asked.  
"Master Oraka told us to stay here! We can't jus- SAITO!?", Anna yelled as Saito simply ignored her and jumped off the terrace. His Keyblade converted into a glider in mid-air and he flew towards the ground near the castle entrance to assist the guards.  
Upon seeing Saito, Yen too activated his armour and threw his keyblade in front of him. Within a second a glider, that looked more like a hover bike with a small canon, was hovering in front of him.  
"NO! Yen it's too dangerous", she warned as screams and explosions echoed across the city as if to support her point.  
"We're already outnumbered, Anna! If we don't fight now _no place will be safe_!", Yen explained.

Oddly enough, a ball of flame struck the castle wall above them! That was amazingly coincidental, Anna thought.  
Anna looked around at the chaos over the city. Many of the guards had managed to get to the skies and were now fighting the gliders. It looked like a fight between birds, except, birds don't use magic, especially not the kind being used in this battle. On the ground guards clashed with Galanort's men in different groups. Smoke arose from many places as guards tried to move civilians out of the battlefield. She looked up at Kingdom Hearts, majestically floating in the sky lighting up the night as the batle ensued.

It was a difficult decision to make. They had been in a battle only a few hours ago and even then they had faced only a small number of Galanort's men, but this time, she knew, they would face much more.  
"Fine", she muttered and regretfully tapped the button on her arm. A flash of blue light and she was covered in that unique armour of her's. Yen put his hand on her shoulder, she looked up at his eyes, through the thick, translucent armour.  
"We'll get through this", Yen assured her. "Now let's go".

Yen got onto his glider and flew towards where he had last seen Saito. Anna followed, simply flying without a glider. They reached the ground to see that Saito was far up ahead fighting Galanort's men. They passed a large group of guards who stood near the castle entrance. It was clear they're job was to stand ground and block the entrance. They quickly reached the fight and, before they knew it, were right in the middle of the battle. Yen fought valiantly as he helped tear through at least twelve of Galanort's men. He soon managed to find Saito, who was fending off a dozen of Galanort's men with only two other guards by his side.

"You made it", Saito said as he shot a ball of flame at one of Galanort's men.  
"I couldn't leave you alone now could I?", Yen, to his surprise, chuckled as he fought. The battlefield seemed much less crowded than it did from the castle and this certainly felt relieving. Meanwhile, Anna joined Master Galleon, who, much like her, was shooting blue lasers from his Keyblade and wearing the same armour as her. After all, he _was_ her teacher!

Unfortunately, all of Yen's relief-and perhaps even his hopes of winning the battle- disappeared with one word.  
"Dragons!", someone yelled from across the field. Yen looked up to see at least three dragons flying towards the battlefield and attacking the guards.  
This distraction was followed by Yen being struck by a large ball of dark flames that seemed to come form the sky. Yen fell to the ground and opened his eyes only to see a large black armoured soldier running towards him.  
A large ball of flame struck the man in the chest, followed by Saito and another guard striking him with their Keyblades. The impact of the dark flame had created a loud ringing sound in Yen's ears.

He looked around, feeling confused and weak, and noticed that Galanort's men seemed to be winning. Yen felt himself being dragged across the ground away from the battlefield.  
"Saito, cover me!", came a faint voice from the person pulling him.  
"Retreat!", came a yell from across the battle as Yen's hearing started to return to normal. Yen noticed a few of the guards in front of him turning around and running. What was going on? Was this really happening? Yen still felt lost. He watched as Saito and a few other guards held off Galanort's men. It was slowly starting to become clear. They were losing the battle and now had to leave, but he didn't have the strength to question it.

"I've got you", came the familiar voice of Master Oraka as he pulled Yen up, slumped him over his shoulders and began running.

Yen heard another roar from one of the dragons, followed by a few explosions nearby. Yen felt his body hit the floor and his vision getting somewhat blurry. Yen managed to look up to see a large, dark figure a few feet away from him. It roared loudly as a series of lightning bolts and fireballs struck it in the face. Yen's vision began to fade and soon everything was dark.

_Among the chaos all over the city and the skies as the guards retreated and buildings burned a large glider flew towards the castle. He reached a large altar close to where Kingdom Hearts floated (The Altar of Naught) and jumped off his glider. The floor shook as his armoured feet reached the ground. He wore thick black armour, with thick spikes emerging out of one of the shoulders. His helmet gave a clear definition of the word 'lethal'._  
_"Ah, Kingdom Hearts! Your power shall be mine now!", he spoke, in a deep, ghastly voice._  
_"Not so fast!", came a voice from behind him. He turned around to see a man wearing silver, majestic armour and a large crown symbol on his chest-plate. He held, not a Keyblade, but a large, thick sword with markings engraved on it in a glowing blue colour. He was not wearing a helmet and this revealed his short, white beard and hair.._  
_"Ah Your Majesty! I did not think you would personally try to stop me!", he spoke in a mocking tone. Out of a burst of black fire a large blade appeared in his hand. A blade that would send chills down anyone's spine, just by the dark aura around it. It was the dark copy of the X-blade!_

_The Dark Blade!_


	7. Chapter 7

**_Chapter 7:Hope Dissolves In Darkness_**

Yen opened his eyes to see the early hours of a dull sunrise above him. His ribs and one of his legs ached. As he got up into a sitting position he noticed he was lying on the ground. Rocks and boulders were everywhere and each of them had that same, glowing blue pattern like the ones on the beach. There was no tent surrounding him, just a large boulder which kept him from seeing- or perhaps even being seen.

"You okay?", came a familiar voice. Yen turned his head around to see Saito standing next to him,a bandage covering his arm.  
"Wha-what happened?", Yen asked. A clear look of sorrow was on Saito's face  
"Try to remember', he replied.

Yen put his hand over his forehead and closed his eyes as he attempted to recall the battle.  
"We..lost", Yen mumbled.  
"Retreated...but yeah, I guess it's the same as defeat", Saito replied. Yen heard the sound of metal clanking outside and immediately knew it was a group of guards.  
"Where's Master Oraka?", Yen asked, getting on to his feet.  
"He's with the leaders, planning a way to get back to the city", Saito replied. Yen got up and looked to the skies as a heavy mist surrounded the area they were in. Yen realized they were at the mountains outside the city.

"Where's Anna?", Yen asked, but Saito remained silent and proceeded through the rocky terrain. Two guards passed-by looking at Yen.  
"Saito? Where is she?", Yen asked again. Saito took a quick turn and climbed up a large boulder slowly proceeding to the top of a small hill. Yen followed, starting to fear what could have happened.

Yen reached the top of the hill and saw, far from where they stood a huge, transparent blue dome covered a large city. Smoke emanated from various places. A large piece of the castle had fallen off and was visibly crashed into the ground. However, none of that caught Yen's attention as much as the realization that the battle was still going on!

In various parts of the city tiny explosions could be seen, especially across the castle. Above, in the sky, a dull-reddish Kingdom Hearts floated. In the past it would have lit up the sky, but not now. A dark mist surrounded the entire city.  
"We..couldn't find her Yen", Saito spoke with regret. Yen's heart almost stopped as the words came out of Saito's mouth. Could she have been..?

"We have to go back", Yen said as he began to go down hill. Saito ran after him.  
"Yen stop!", he said.

"Stop!? Anna could be..she could..", Yen couldn't say the word. "I'm going there and looking for her!".  
"You won't get far alone Yen", Saito warned.

"Well someone has to go! There's still people there!", Yen said.  
"Calm yourself Yen!", came Master Oraka's voice from behind. He was standing there wearing his armour.  
"You just left them behind!", Yen yelled. He felt outraged, but in truth, he just wanted to find Anna. To make sure she was safe and alive. His mind tortured him by creating awful scenarios and he could only bare it for so long.  
"Would you rather we stayed there and died?", Oraka asked Yen."The ones that stayed behind chose to do so. We had to leave and wait for reinforcements".  
"Reinforcements?".  
"Yes. We can't attack with the number of guards we have now. So just CALM DOWN! We will go back, we will win and we WILL find Anna", Oraka firmly assured Yen. Yen tightened his fist and looked down. He hated the fact that Oraka was right.

Meanwhile chaos ensued across the city. The small number of guards continued fighting Galanort's men under the early hours of sunrise. Much of the city was covered with rubble , fire and -in some places- even ice. Dead soldiers were scattered across the entire city as people ran and looked for places to hide.  
Some of Galanort's men barged into a house carrying a large, horrific machine and aimed it at the small family staring back with horror over there faces.  
"No! Please..we-agh", he tried to beg, but it was too late. A large dark beam pierced through his chest and soon he lay on the floor, motionless. His nearby family members screamed in terror as the men pointed the machine at the rest of them. This happened in several places across the city as people ran in terror. Galanort's men placed large machines at several corners of the city right .

These machines emitted dark rays that only strengthened the dark mist floating around the entire city. Guards occasionally made scattered attempts to destroy the Harvesters and the Shield generators, but proved to be no match for the large number of Galanort's soldiers that guarded them.

The King fell to the floor close to the edge of the altar, smoke coming off his blackened and dented armour. His sword lay on the floor several feet away from him.  
"What kind of a King fights for hours only to lose again and again?", Galanort mocked in that unmistakable,deep, ghastly voice of his.  
The King panted as he lay on his back, weak and exhausted. Galanort walked up to his sword and picked it up. He turned his head towards Kingdom Hearts and pointed the King's sword at it.

"_When the Land of Light is under threat, the Guardian shall arrive to protect.."_, Galanort muttered as a bright, blue beam shot out of the tip of the sword and straight at the center of Kingdom Hearts. The sword slowly left Galanort's hand and floated in mid-air. The King tried to bring himself back on to his feet, desperate to stop Galanort.

"...and soon...all power shall belong to me!". Galanort quickly turned and, with the Dark Blade pointed at the King, shot a thick, black beam through his chest.


	8. Chapter 8

**_Chapter 8: Retaliation_**

_"Guardian, Kingdom Hearts is in peril. You must find a way back into the city!"  
_  
"What's that light?", Yen asked, staring at the large blue beam going straight towards Kingdom Hearts.  
"Galanort", Oraka muttered. Everyone seemed shocked and confused. Some of the other soldiers came over to get a better view of the beam.

"Master we have to go stop him now!", Saito said.  
"We can't", Oraka said.

"Why not?", Yen asked.  
"That force-field covering the city won't allow us to enter, even if we used a light portal", Oraka explained.  
"Damn it", Yen tightened his fists.  
"We need to find a way through that shield", Oraka mumbled to himself.

Yen and Saito stared at the beam, fearing what Galanort was up to. Suddenly the force field disappeared! It then reappeared and this started to happen frequently, like a bulb that constantly blinked. Strange blue sparks covered the force field.

"Sir, the shield!", one of the soldiers yelled as he ran to Master Oraka. Yen noticed smoke rising from one corner of the city along with several small explosions. Master Oraka and Master Koshi quickly arrived to see the shield which covered the city. It was destabilizing.

"Someone's managed to damage the shield!", Koshi exclaimed. Yen looked at the city and felt a shimmer of hope.  
"Anna", Yen mumbled, somehow, he knew it was her.  
"Prepare the troops! If we strike now we can get through", Oraka said to Koshi.  
"You heard him! Prepare everyone!", Koshi yelled the orders to the guards who quickly ran to spread the word. Within seconds several guards scrambled across the rocky, fog covered terrain. They arranged themselves in groups. Yen noticed a rather rare group of soldiers who wore plain silver armour and had four arms. Each arm held an ordinary sword and their helmets were quite unique. Yen and Saito joined one of the many groups and waited for further instructions. Yen was ready to look for Anna the moment he made it back into the city.

A series of blue lasers came through the thick, dark mist knocking down at least two more of Galanort's men.  
"Anna, I'll hold them off while you attack the other generator', Master Galleon ordered. Anna nodded and hovered towards the other generator. Most of the soldiers and the dragon that were guarding it were now distracted by Master Galleon. Anna hovered in from behind and attacked one of Galanort's men.  
"There's two of them!", one of Galanort's men yelled as he ran to engage Anna. But Anna was too quick for him, she struck him with her Keyblade, fired several blue lasers at the other soldier and proceeded towards the generator. Anna searched for the weak spot and quickly shot a large, thick blue laser at it. The generator exploded violently and the shield disappeared.

A nearby dragon quickly headed towards her. Anna swiftly dodged a large ball of flame fired at her and took cover in the smoke which came from the destroyed generator. Unfortunately, with one sweep of it's wings the smoke was gone and Anna was fully exposed to the dragon. Master Galleon quickly appeared in front of her and began shooting blue lasers at the dragon's face. It gave out a loud roar of pain as it turned around and flew away.

Another dragon flew overhead as several more of Galanort's men appeared from nearby."There they are", one of them yelled.  
"Anna, take cover and wait for the others to show up. I'll handle them", Galleon said.  
"No", Anna said. "I'm not leaving you, Master". Anna raised her keyblade, both Master and student hovering a few inches above the ground ready to fight as dozens of Galanort's men ran to attack them. Suddenly a light portal appeared in front of them and several guards stepped out, taking Galanort's men by surprise.

"'Dragon-slayers'! Go!", Oraka ordered a group of guards, who then ran through one of the three portals opened in front of them. The group of four armed men ran in through the portal. Saito looked at Yen and moved his eyes towards the portal. Understandgin what he meant, Yen ran towards the portal  
"Yen!", Oraka tried to stop him, but it was too late. Saito ran in after him and both made it through without being stopped.  
Koshi put his hand on Oraka's shoulder.  
"Let them go Oraka. You need to stay here and make sure things go according to plan", he said.  
Oraka thought for a moment.  
"Fine", Oraka knew Koshi was right and waited to instruct the other groups when and where to attack.  
"Those two better be safe!", he thought.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Chapter 9: A Score Settled _**

Multiple light portals spawned across the city as guards came in and attacked Galanort's men.

Yen appeared through the portal along with multiple Dragon slayers, who proceeded to attack Galanort's men. It was clear that the number of Galanort's men and dragons had increased!.

A dragon swooped down to attack only to have three 'Dragon-slayers' skillfully jump onto it and begin slashing at it. Within seconds the dragon crashed into a nearby building. They really were good at their job! Yen ducked as a ball of flame flew overhead. One of Galanort's men came to attack him. Before he knew it Saito managed to appear from behind and struck the soldier with a slash of his keyblade.

Only moments after the attack began, balls of flame and darkness flew across the city as the sounds of keyblades being struck against each other echoed everywhere. Explosions were scattered across the city as the day got slightly brighter despite the thick, dark mist.

Yen looked around for Anna as he fought alongside Saito. Yen noticed an odd, blue fire on a building not far from where he was. He quickly ran towards it.

Anna fought him near the skyscraper. Except for a handful of troops nearby they were almost completely isolated. He dodged a large, blue fireball that Anna had shot at him and swung his keyblade at her, but Anna dodged it.  
He was certainly fast, but she was faster. Anna managed to shoot a blue laser at point black at his face, causing half of his helmet to be torn off as he fell to the ground.  
Anna ran to attack him, but he got out of the way and kicked her. Anna recovered in mid-air and that was when she noticed his face or at least half of it.

"You're...Korro", she said.

"Ah, I assume Yen told you about me?", he smirked. It seemed he knew it was Anna he was fighting against.

Anna ran towards him and tried to attack, but he dodged and it seemed he was the quicker one. He managed to strike Anna with his Keyblade and then kicked her. Anna got back up and shot several blue lasers at him. In turn he shot a ball of flame at her, which she dodged, but within a fraction of a second he fired another one, this time managing to hit her. Anna fell to the ground several feet away, unconscious .Korro grinned at his victory. Other than the broken helmet it was almost as though he didn't have a scratch!

"So weak..you're not very differ-", a sudden explosion knocked Korro several feet away.  
He got up on to his knee and looked to his left to see a man in damaged armour carrying a Keyblade he recognised.

"Oh…so you're still alive...how annoying", Korro said.

"Stand up and fight Korro!", Yen yelled, as he took off his helmet.

"You're going to fight me again? Don't you ever learn, Yen?", Korro mocked. Yen didn't reply. "Well it's your funeral then". Korro rushed towards Yen and the two began to fight.

"You're not gonna get out alive this time, Yen", Korro said as Yen blocked his attack.

"We'll see about that!", Yen said, pushing Korro back.

Their Keyblades clashed as both brothers tried to lay damage to the other.

Saito was busy fighting his way through the battlefield. He had almost reached the castle when he saw a Keyblade glider fly over-head, towards the castle.  
"Master Oraka", he mumbled.

Meanwhile Yen and Korro continued fighting. Yen managed to land a heavy blow at his brother, sending him flying several feet away. Korro immediately got back onto his feet and shot a bolt of lightning at Yen. He then slashed his Keyblade at Yen who quickly blocked it.  
"You really think you can beat me, brother?", Korro asked. Yen slashed his Keyblade at him, but Korro dodged and struck Yen in the chest. Yen got back on to his feet and their Keyblade clashed yet again.  
Yen swung his Keyblade at Korro, who dodged it, jumping into the air. Korro shot a ball of darkness out of his Keyblade which Yen deflected and then jumped up in the air towards Korro. The two fought intensely in mid-air until Korro finally managed to knock Yen down to the ground with a heavy blow.  
"You're still weak", Korro said pointing his Keyblade at Yen. A dark orb appeared at the tip and began to grow."Play time's over. I've let you live long enough".  
A small memory of Anna flashed before Yen's eyes and suddenly he turned with his Keyblade pointed at Korro. Before Korro could make a move a thin beam of light pierced through him! Korro's Keyblade fell to the ground, a look of shock on his face as he fell to his knees.

It wasn't long before Oraka managed to reach the altar. He noticed the King's sword and quickly fired a ball of fire at it, knocking it down to the floor. The beam disappeared.  
Oraka landed on the altar and noticed the King lying at the edge motionless, but that did not surprise him as much as the fact that no one else was there!  
"You're majesty!", Oraka yelled as he ran to the King. He shook him, but there was no response. Oraka noticed a black fire covering his chest. "Galanort!"

"You called?", came a deep, ghastly voice from behind. He turned around to see a man in thick, black armour standing on top of a pillar. He looked at least eight feet tall and held the 'Dark Blade'.  
Galanort looked around at the city, noticing that his men were losing."I expected the Guardian of the _X_-blade", he mumbled.  
"Get down here and fight me Galanort", Oraka yelled.  
"Hmm...maybe later", Galanort said, almost like a spoiled prince who was bored with his life.  
"What!?", Oraka exclaimed. That was a ridiculously unexpected answer  
"Bring your men to fight in the place of destiny. I shall be waiting for them ",he then looked up at Kingdom Hearts "..and for YOU".  
Galanort soon disappeared in dark flames and all over the city his soldiers slowly began to do the same.

"Wait! Get back here", Oraka yelled but he was gone.  
For sometime there was silence, then sounds of rejoice echoed over the city as soldiers celebrated victory.

Saito reached the skyscraper to see Yen standing near his dead brother. Yen recalled in his memories the day he first fought Korro and lost after his father had been killed. He recalled how Korro managed to beat him again later on in their previous encounter in the forest.  
Korro always was obsessed with power and joined Galanort for the attempt to gain power.  
Yen recalled the look of pride and accomplishment on Korro's face when he had killed their father.  
"Are you happy now, brother?", Yen mumbled."You really left me no choice".

Saito said nothing, only watched as Yen talked to his dead brother. His score with Korro had been settled...


	10. Chapter 10

_**Chapter 10:Aftermath**_

_A tall figure in thick, golden-white armour and glowing, blue eyes stood at the center.  
It was almost completely dark, except for several small lights that floated around him and the X-blade that hovered in front of him.  
The figure felt worried by the fact that Kingdom Hearts was not present.  
I am sorry. I was too late", the figure said.  
"Do not be, Guardian. Kingdom Hearts and I, too must be blamed. It seems Galanort is more powerful than we expected", the voice came from the X-blade. "We now know where to find him. I hoped it would not have to come to this, but prepare yourself Guardian, it shall soon be time. We must now attempt to isolate Galanort and confront him alone, for WE are what he is after!".  
__  
"_The cheers were short-lived. Soon after Galanort's men retreated, people began to turn their attention to the carnage all over the city. Several buildings were destroyed and hundreds of people lay on the ground motionless. On receiving orders to do so, soldiers soon began to look for and destroy the generators placed across the city, which were said to be the cause of the dense, black mist that still lingered all over the city.

Oraka lowered his eyelids and pulled the King away from the edge of the altar. The dark mist was starting to die out and everything was much more visible now. Three light portals opened behind him as three Masters walked in. They removed their helmets to reveal Master Koshi, Master Galleon and a pink-haired woman known as Master Rhyme. None of them seemed very surprised to see the King laying motionless on the floor with black smoke coming out of his chest. They had all figured out what had happened when they saw the blue beam.

"It seems rather odd that Galanort would simply 'disappear' like that, doesn't it?", Koshi broke the silence. Master Oraka stood up.  
"The fight is far from over. Galanort will be expecting us at the place of Destiny", Oraka said.  
"The Badlands?", Galleon asked.  
"Pardon me for asking sir, but what is so special about the Badlands? It's just a barren wasteland, after all", Rhyme finally spoke.  
"It's more than a 'barren wasteland', Master Rhyme", Oraka replied, looking up at the sky, as the dark mist almost completely cleared up. It was empty! Almost everyone, except for Oraka, was shocked.

"The Badlands is where Kingdom Hearts is said to go hide itself when in peril. As a last stand, the _X_-blade guardian shall arrive in an attempt to stop whoever threatens Kingdom Hearts", Oraka explained further. For a while there was silence.  
"So what now? We go and fight?", Rhyme asked.  
"Galanort will leave us no choice. If we choose the coward's way out he'll personally lay waste to the Realm Of Light", Koshi explained.  
"Master Koshi is right, we must gather our men and prepare for a final battle, or else more innocent people will be lost to the darkness", Oraka said.  
"We're falling right into his hands. Can we really stop Galanort?", Master Rhyme's question brought complete silence.  
Master Oraka turned his head towards the empty sky. "I will attempt to hold him off until the Guardian arrives".

She opened her eyes and slowly got to her feet. Hearing the noise, Yen turned around and quickly ran over to her  
"Anna", Yen yelled, as he wrapped his arms around her.  
"Yen", she mumbled. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Korro, lying on the ground, motionless.  
_"Did he…really do it?"_, she wondered.  
"It like I'm not even here", Saito chuckled quietly, but then soon turned his attention to something else.

"Where were you?", Yen asked her. Anna then proceeded to tell him of how she had gotten stuck in one of the buildings when the dragons showed up. She was slowly starting to feel more conscious and better.  
"They almost got me, but then Master Galleon showed up. We couldn't leave because of the shield so we had to stay inside with the others and fight. Master Galleon and I went after the shield generators and..well i guess we got the job done", she gave a weak smile, though it soon turned into a frown.  
She neglected to mention her fight with Korro, it seemed obvious enough to her.  
"What's wrong?", Yen asked her.  
"While we were fighting...i saw one of the people get shot by one of those guns...they...", Anna couldn't say the rest. To see someone's heart get sucked out was a traumatic experience. Yen decided not to ask about it.

Anna turned around and that was when she noticed Saito staring at the sky with a serious expression. She looked up to realize the horror of the fact that Kingdom Hearts was no longer there.  
"It's g-gone?!", she exclaimed. Yen was equally as shocked to see the empty sky where nothing but a small, glowing pink aura remained.

"You three, help out with the survivors will ya?", a guard yelled at them rather rudely. The three exchanged looks and decided to split up.  
"We'll meet back here, I guess?", Anna said.  
"Yeah", Yen replied and the three went in separate directions. Each of them kept glancing at the sky, it would take a while for this to sink in, but they weren't the only ones who noticed. Panic was all over the Realm Of Light, because of this odd disappearance.

"Galanort knows very well what he's doing", Oraka mumbled.  
"Master Rhyme, Master Galleon, spread the word. We must make our final stand", Koshi ordered and the two immediately left.

"This will be our toughest challenge", Oraka mumbled, still staring at the place where Kingdom Hearts once floated, fearing what would happen next.


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter 11:____Farewell..._

Yen walked with a group of guards searching through the rubble for survivors. The sun was at it's highest now, but the smoke emanating from most areas that were still on fire made it a little dark. So far they had found at least six survivors with minor wounds, eight wounded, but several dead.  
"Did Galanort really lose this fight?" Yen wondered.  
"Sir we've got a Harvester victim", one of the soldiers yelled as he removed a heavy rock. The group rushed over to see a man who's eyes were completely blank. A large blackhole was at the place where his heart should have been and black smoke emanated from it.  
"What happened to him?", Yen asked.

"He was struck by a Harvester-ray", came a deep voice from behind him. Yen turned around to see man covered in thick, bronze armour. He immediately recognized the thick keyblade and the blue cloth on his shoulder.  
"Hey..you're..Master Ori?", Yen said. Ori looked at him.  
"Well, well you made it throught the whole battle. I'm impressed", he said.  
"_Did he come along with the reinforcements?"_ Yen wondered.  
"Anyways", Ori decided to resume his explanantion,"if you haven't noticed yet, these 'guns' some of Galanort's men were carrying are Harvester rays. They shoot a beam of pure darkness to suck out hearts from people so that they can be used for many reasons".  
"That's..awful", Yen mumbled, lookig at the man who lay on the ground with his eyes completely blank. He looked hardly a few years older than Yen.  
"Welcome to war, kid", Ori said.

"Master Ori, should we really give information like that to a kid?", one of the soldiers asked.  
"Ah don't worry, this kid's a damn good fighter. Besides he'll need to know everything before the next fight", Ori said.  
"What? Next...fight?",Yen asked, partially not wanting to know.  
"You still didn't figure it out?", he asked.  
"Figure what?", Yen asked.  
"Look around, kid. Galanort didn't lose the fight, he just decided to take it somewhere else", Ori replied.  
"What?! Why?", Yen asked.  
"I don't know for sure", Ori folded his arms."What i _do_ know is that gathering hearts is a major part of his plan and he can't do that while there's a whole battle going on here".  
"Funny, Maser Oraka and Master Koshi seem to have a different opinion", came a female voice from behind.

"Oh, Master Rhyme, what brings you here?", Ori asked.  
"Master Oraka wants me to tell everyone to prepare the remaining troops", she answered.  
"We're going to need everyone we can get", Ori replied.

"Master Galleon!", Anna ran towards him. "Is it true? Are we really going for another batte?".  
"I'm afraid so, Anna", he replied. He looked up at the sky. "I saw the allignment of the stars completely shift during the battle".  
"Master...I'd like to go with you", Anna said. Master Galleon seemed a bit surprised.  
"No, Anna. I can not let you", he replied.  
"Why not!? This is my battle too", she explained.  
"I understand your love for this realm Anna", he said."But i can not let you join the battle for that very reason".  
"What..do you mean?", Anna asked.  
"I will not lie to my greatest student. I fear the outcome of the battle will not be fruitful." Anna's heart beat faster as fear started to take her. She had just been told the same thing and now felt almost sure that would be the awful outcome.

"And in the case of such an outcome, the people will need a wise leader to guide them. You are the only one besides me with the power of wisdom. In dark times, people will look to the wisests for guidance", he contiued.  
"But..I-", Anna didn't know how to respond to this.  
"I'm sorry Anna",he said. Anna clutched her fists.  
'Don't be", she said,"I'll...do it". She said it with much regret, but knew she didn't have much of a choice. Master Galleon put his hand on her shoulder.  
"Do not mourn, Anna. You were born for greatness and leadership and I can think of no one better to lead the people", he said and then left.

Anna reached the skyscraper, head lowered, fists tightened . So much had happened in so little time. She felt angry and depressed and knew she was in for more bad news, perhaps the worst news so far. Soldiers scurried about, carrying the injured, assembling themselves into lines and getting ready for the final attempt to stop Galanort.

She saw Yen standing there with a rather tense look. Anna walked over to him, bracing herself for the bad news. Saito stood just around the corner, away from sight  
"Anna...there's...going to be another battle", he spoke after a moment of silence. Anna tightened her fists, trying to control her emotions.  
"They're... going to need everyone they can get if we're going to stop Galanort", he continued, hating himself for having to leave her like this.  
"Please...don't go", Anna mumbled, a tear rolled down her cheek. Yen remained silent for a while. He was starting to hate himself now and his hatred for Galanort was definitely raging.  
_"I'll be back! I'll be back I promise!"_, Yen yelled. Hearing this Anna burst into tears and hugged him.  
Saito said nothing, only regretting and hating how difficult things had become.

_The entire are was barren and rocky, with hardly a single sign of life anywhere. It was an empty and dead world. Master Oraka stood alone with his armour and his helmet on.__  
__"I was beginning to fear you would not show up", came that unmistakebale, ghastly voice. In front of Oraka stood Galanort, several feet away, holding the Dark Blade.__  
__"Your evil plans shall fail Galanort!", Oraka said._


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12: **__The Final Battle_

"Right now, Master Oraka's assumed his position as leader and gone to meet Galanort, while we're just standing here, waiting to enter a fight that will either save everyone from Galanort, or spread darkness everywhere. Will I ever see Anna again? Will the Realm Of Light be return to it's normal self? Will we have a home to go back to?".

Yen looked around. The number of soldiers had certainly increased. He had been told that several soldiers from other world's had come to the Realm of Light to assist in fighting Galanort. It turned out that their worlds had been attacked too. Keyblade wielders wearing different types and colours of armour stood in groups across a huge area near the floating castle.

In front of each group a Master or leader stood next to a white shard, about the size of a football. The Badlands required extra energy to enter which was why these shards had been placed where the portals would open. Any minute now they would be entering the Badlands.

Yen looked at the sky. Even though the dark mist had been stopped, it seemed that he light was quickly disappearing. Yen looked at Saito, who was standing next to him.

"We'll get through this", Yen said. Saito didn't reply. Yen looked over the large number of soldiers to see Anna, far away on one of the hills.

_"I'll be back. I promise", the words echoed in his mind._

Oraka watched as atleast a dozen dragons positioned themselves on different hills while numerous soldiers marched in through Dark portals behind Galanort. The sounds of their footsteps echoed all over the barren, empty land. After a while they came to halt and stood still.

Galanort raised his hand, it had an odd, purple fire covering it. The fire immediately shot up into the sky and slowly, Kingdom Hearts appeared, floating in the sky, still looking somewhat damaged.

"Let us begin, Oraka", Galanort said.  
Oraka raised his Keyblade upside-down and then jabbed it into the ground. Several light portals opened behind him and soldiers came running in.

Yen glanced at Anna one last time before their group ran in through the portal.

The battle had already begun by the time Yen and Saito had arrived. Gliders flew overhead from both sides of the battlefield and engaged each other in combat, dragons were being kept busy by the dragon slayers while soldiers fought as far as the eye could see. The entire area shook with warcrys, explosions and the sounds of metal as Keyblades struck each other and soldiers got fair share of pain.

In the middle of the field Galanort and Oraka fought each other. Galanort swung the Dark blade and Oraka swung his Keyblade. Both weapons struck each other and Oraka felt as if the ground near them shook a bit. This happened a few more times and the ground shook with each hit. At least one or two guards of the RoL tried to attack Galanort but were struck down within the blink of an eye.

One of Galanort's men came from behind to attack Oraka, but Oraka was quick and blocked the attack immediately.  
"DO NOT INTERFERE!", Galanort yelled as he pointed his keyblade at the soldier and a large ball of fire struck him in the chest. The soldier crashed into a boulder, but it was clear he was dead before he even reached the boulder.

"Too much interference. Let's take this somewhere private, shall we?", Galanort said it with a tone of joy in his voice that sent chills down Oraka's spine. He slashed his blade at Oraka who blocked it yet again, but suddenly a large blackhole started to appear at the point where their weapons met.  
The black hole suddenly grew and enveloped both of them!

Meanwhile the battle raged on had been hours since the battle started and it was getting dark. However, most of the darkness seemed to come from the smoke and fires that covered the battlefield. The sounds of metal clanking and Keyblades being struck against each other echoed all over the battlefield.  
Kingdom Hearts shook with every Keyblade wielder that got struck down as darkness seemed to grow and hope seemed to shrink...  
_Where was the Guardian of the X-blade?_


	13. Chapter 13

_**Chapter 13: The Unexpected Guardian**_

Oraka felt a heavy blow that sent him flying to the rocky ground. Galanort jumped out from behind through the blackhole that floated in the air a few feet above. With a simple hand gesture, Galanort made the blackhole disappear. Oraka got on to his feet to see that they were on a cliff, far away from the main battle.  
"Now...let us finish this", Galanort spoke calmly. Oraka ran towrds Galanort and slashed his Keyblade. Galanort proceeded to block, but before he knew it Oraka shot a ball of flame at his leg, followed by a heavy kick to the face. Much to his surprise, Galanort fell to the ground.

"Yen, we need to find Master Oraka, he can' take on Galanort on his own", Saito said as he struck yet another one of Galanort's men.  
"Yeah.. let's g-GET DOWN!", Yen tackled Saito and the two got out of the way just in time to avoid being crushed by a dragon that had just crashed into the ground. Yen got up and raised his Keyblade, but Saito stopped him.  
"We don't have time for that", he said. Yen nodded and the two ran to take cover behind a large boulder, nearby.

"You're mine now, Galanort!", Oraka yelled as he jumped up in the air, with his Keyblade raised, proceeding to attack his foe.  
Suddenly a huge pillar made of rock burst out of the ground and struck Oraka, sending him flying into the air.  
"Yen! Over there!", Saito yelled, pointing to the huge pillar that had just appeared. Both of them ducked as two gliders flew overhead with a loud, almost deafening, sound. Yen looked over the boulder just in time to see both of them get shot down by a fireball, one after the other. Galanort's men seemed to be ruling the skies  
"Well so much for using a glider", Yen said. he then turned his attention to the cliff and, quite fortunately, it wasn't very far!  
"Guess we'll have to make a run for it", Saito suggested.

As if to bash Saito's suggestion, a large ball of flame flew overhead followed by a number of explosions nearby that shook the ground near them and the deafening noise created a painful ringing in their ears. Saito looked around for another option and quickly found one.  
"That trench!", he yelled pointing to a trench not far from them. "It'll provide cover while we get to the cliff!".  
Yen looked at the trench, the ringing in his ears was almost gone now.  
"Okay! On the count of three", Yen yelled to Saito.  
"Three", Saito yelled immediately and the two ran for the trench.

They dodged the explosions and strafe attacks being done by Galanort's men who flew around on gliders. One of Galanort's men appeared in front of them, but Saito quickly shot a bolt of lightning, knocking him out of the way. After a short sprint they reached the trench and made their way towards the cliff, without much difficulty.

Oraka recovered himself in mid-air just in time for Galanort to jump towards him. The two fought in the air as gravity pulled them to the ground. It was the perfect chance to strike a heavy blow. Oraka maneuevered himself towards Galanort, a small orange sphere appeared at the tip of his Keyblade.  
"That doesn't work twice, Oraka", Galanort mocked. Suddenly, Oraka disappeared in thin air! He reappeared from behind and fired a large ball of flame at Galanort. A huge explosion resulted in plenty of smoke where Galanort was.

"Too slow!", came the ghastly voice from behind. Before Oraka could react Galanort landed a heavy blow that sent him straight through the rock pillar and right into the ground. "So weak!".

Yen and Saito had finally reached Galanort and Oraka only to witness the worst!  
"MASTER! NOO!", Yen yelled as he saw a dark beam pierce through Oraka. Behind him stood Galanort, holding the dark replica of the X-blade and, no doubt, the source of the beam!  
With his face partially visible through the broken helmet, Oraka's hand reached out to Yen before he fell down, motionless. A small, glowing pink light floated towards Galanort and disappeared.

Ignoring Galanort, Saito looked up at the sky to see Kingdom Hearts floating only a few metres above the cliff. It seemed to be dying."It's time", words echoed in his mind as Saito clutched his fists.  
Galanort withdrew his blade and Yen noticed that several cracks on his armor suddenly repaired themselves. Master Ori's words echoed in his mind,_"__a beam of pure darkness to suck out hearts from people so that they__can be used for many reasons__"_.

For a while Yen stood frozen, almost unable to react to what had just happened. They were too late.

Galanort turned his head towards Yen. His glowing golden, eyes were the only things visible through his armor and he appeared to be at least three feet taller than Yen. It was the first time Yen saw Galanort face to face and he truly looked supernatural!

Galanort laughed madly, sending chills down Yen's spine and his heart beat at it's fastest. And then he said it! What Yen least expected!**  
**"At last! The Guardian has arrived!", he said. Yen's eyes widened.**  
**"M-me!?", he exclaimed, completely in shock, but his heart and breath seemed to completely stop when he heard the sounds of metal clanking behind him!At that point, Yen knew! All that was left now was to turn around. He braced himself as he slowly turned his head to see a large figure almost as tall as Galanort, with golden-silver armor the only thing being visible were the unmistakable, familiar, glowing blue eyes!**  
**A flash of bright light and there it was! In his hands, the X-blade!"S-S-SAITO!?", Yen muttered.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Chapter 14:Clash of Power**_

"Y-you're the Guardian...", Yen mumbled, trying to get a proper grasp of the situation.  
"When were you going to tell me!?", Yen yelled, fists tightened.  
"I didn't think...I would have to", Saito replied.  
"That world you took us to...you knew there was going to be a battle, didn't you? You just wanted to get some answers!Y-you used us...?", Yen said. Saito remained silent.  
"Yes, I'm sure that's all quite heartbreaking, but I'd like to wrap this up quickly", Galanort interrupted. He raised his blade.  
"Yen, leave", Saito said. Yen seemed a bit taken aback by the order.  
"No!", he said. "We came here to stop him and that's what we're going to do!".

"Fool, you dare think you can defeat me?", Galanort said. He shot a ball of flame at Yen. Yen closed eyes and braced himself for the impact, but Yen only felt a slight breeze. Yen opened his eyes to see a large glass-like shield in front of him.  
"Leave 'my friend' of this, Galanort!", Saito demanded.  
"Well, then I shall take you!", Galanort said and charged at Saito. Saito quickly made a small hand gesture that sent Yen flying a few feet away as the two large figures engaged in combat.  
They dodged, they blocked and attempted to strike as the entire cliff shook every time their weapons met.

One little slip and Saito was sent flying by a strong kick from Galanort.  
"Once I finish you, Guardian, that _X_-blade shall be mine!",he said. Galanort an to attack Saito while he was getting up, but a bolt of lightning stopped him. Galanort turned around.  
"You dare try to attack me!?", he yelled. Galanort raised his blade and shot a bolt of lightning that struck Yen heavily.  
"Yen!", Saito yelled.  
"Not so fast", Galanort said as he turned around and tried to kick Saito. Saito managed to grab his leg and punch him in the thigh. Seizing the opportunity, Saito immediately struck Galanort with the X-blade.

Galanort immediately recovered and, with a small hand gesture, pulled several large rocks out of the ground and shot them towards Saito. Saito quickly cast a shield that destroyed all of the rocks.  
Galanort raised his blade once more as a ball of darkness appeared at the tip. He was stopped, as numerous balls of flame hit him from behind. Galanort turned around to see Yen coming down from above, ready to strike him with his Keyblade.

Galanort disappeared, right before Yen's eyes! Yen reached the ground only to see Galanort coming from behind. Saito quickly appeared in front of him and cast another shield, successfully stopping Galanort's attack.  
"I thought I told you to run", Saito said.  
"I'm not leaving you!", Yen said.  
The shield started to crack.  
"Get out of the way", Saito yelled, as the shield cracked and Galanort's blade hit the ground, creating a huge crater from the impact.

Saito and Yen attacked Galanort together now, but Galanort was much stronger than anticipated. Within seconds he got the best of both of them.  
He managed to shoot a large ball of dark flames at Saito and tuned around just in time to send Yen flying from a heavy kick.  
"Agh, what the hell is that armor made of?", Yen wondered.

Galanort shot another ball of flame, this time at Yen, but Yen managed to recover just in time to deflect it.  
"Ah, I must admit, you're quite something for a scrawny, little brat", Galanort said.  
"You have no idea!", Saito yelled as he struck Galanort with the X-blade.  
Galanort recovered, yet again, and the three continued fighting.

This time Saito managed to strike Galanort..  
"Yen, now!", Saito yelled and the two ran in unison in an attempt to strike Galanort together. Galanort quickly stabbed his blade into the ground and several pillars emerged, foiling Yen and Saito's attack.  
"Such a weak guardian", Galanort said. He suddenly appeared behind them and struck both of them with his blade, sending both of them flying into the ground.

"Damn it", Saito mumbled, as he tried to get up, but Galanort quickly shot a bolt of lightning at him.  
"How pathetic! The X-blade deserves a stronger guardian", Galanort said, picking Saito up and throwing him through a nearby boulder.  
Saito tried to get back up, but he felt weak.

"Y-you can't win G-galanort. ", Saito said.  
"Oh, is that so?, Galanort mocked.  
"You want the X-blade so that you alone can control the Darkness. But the X-blade exists to protect the Light, and the thing about Light is, it can be shared!", he said

Suddenly the X-blade disappeared from Saito's hand. Galanort heard something and turned around just in time to see Yen stab him with the X-blade!**  
**A beam of light pierced through Galanort as the Dark Blade slipped out of his hand and started to turn into smoke.**  
**The X-blade reappeared in Saito's hand as Galanort trembled.**  
**"Th-this is N-NOT over!", he managed to say it before the red glow in his eyes disappeared and he fell to the ground.


	15. Chapter 15

_**Author's note:**_ I am so sorry this took so long_**.**_

_**Chapter**__** 15: The Hardest**__** Task**_

Earlier...  
_Saito arrived at a small cemetery near "The Plains".__  
__"You called?", he said. Suddenly, everything around him started to fade into a black colour, until Saito was standing alone in complete darkness. Small, twinkly lights started to appear around him, most of them had different sizes and colours. The X-blade, glowing majestically, appeared in front of him. A small Kingdom Hearts, though bigger than the X-blade, appeared floating next to it.__"Guardian..", a deep voice came from Kingdom Hearts."...we foresee a terrible event in the coming. The one called Galanort has become more powerful than our expectations".__  
__Saito looked around him. The alignment of the stars around him had changed completely since the last time.__  
__"I see", he said.__  
__"Should his plans come close to success, you and I must engage him directly and stop him", came a voice from the X-blade.__  
__"It's not like I have a choice now do I?", Saito said.__  
__"Guardian, need I remind you that it was you who accepted this responsibility?", Kingdom Hearts said.__  
__"Fine", Saito said. "Will that be all?".__  
__"There is more. You must put your friend through a 'task'.", the X-blade said.__"What?", Saito didn't like where this was going.|__  
__"We have been watching him for some time and it seems Yen Sid is the most appropriate person", Kingdom Hearts said.__  
__"Guardian, even if we can stop Galanort, here and now, we fear one of his descendants will attempt something similar. But according to the stars, this certain "descendant" is not to appear for several millenia!", the X-blade explained.__  
__"But why him?", Saito asked.__  
__"Because, contrary to his dislike, he can read the stars better than anyone else. His control over magic and his understanding will help him find the "chosen one", Kingdom Hearts said.__  
__"I...can't do that to him", Saito said.__"Guardian, we do not wish to put this young man in peril either, but the future of the worlds is in jeopardy", the X-blade said. Saito clutched his fists. This was too much to ask from him.__  
__"However,should the young man fulfill his destiny and prepare the On, chosen to protect the light, I can provide a certain 'loop hole' ".__  
__"A...loop hole?", Saito wondered._

Now...

They stood at the cliff, as Galanort lay motionless in front of them.  
"W-we did it!", Yen said, partially surprised that he was smiling.  
"No, did it", Saito said.

The two remained silent for a while as the battle below raged on. Saito's heart began to throb as he prepared to do what he would forever regret.  
"I can't believe it. I actually stopp-", Yen turned around only to see Saito pointing the X-blade at him. In one flash Yen was trapped in some sort of glass orb.  
"What the-?", Yen said, banging his fists on the glass orb. "Saito! What are you doing!?".  
"Yen...please..please forgive me", Saito said, removing his helmet. That was when Yen noticed a huge cut on Saito's armor, from which dark smoke came out. Had Galanort managed to critically wound him?

"Yen, this is far from over. Years from now, when our time is little more than a fairy tale, one of Galanort's descendants will try to spread darkness everywhere. You have to find the Chosen One, Yen! You have to".  
"What are you talking about!?", Yen yelled. A small, silver object appeared in Saito's hand.

"Yen, Anna told me to give this to you", he said.  
The object floated through the glass orb and into Yen's hand.  
It was a silver wayfinder with a small "A" engraved at the center.  
"Anna?', Yen said.  
"You won't understand now Yen, but the future is in danger and you have to find the Chosen One!", Saito said."Good-bye my friend".

A bright flash and Yen was gone...


	16. Chapter 16

_**Chapter 16:Glimmer of Hope**_

Saito stared at the X-blade and then at the dull, dying Kingdom Hearts as the battle below raged on.

"I'm sorry, I can no longer protect you two", he said, clutching his chest. The X-blade floated out of his hand and stopped in front of him.

"Guardian, you have fulfilled your duty. Rest now", the voice came from the blade."We are trapped in dark times, perhaps we ourselves must go too, for now".

Suddenly a thin beam of light shot up towards Kingdom Hearts.

The X-blade slowly started to break and turn into small orbs. Seven orbs were glowing brightly while thirteen others were completely dark.

The soldiers in the battlefield now turned their attention to the several, large orbs floating by the cliff and he thin beam going up to Kingdom Hearts.

The dark clouds around Kingdom Hearts started to converge and soon covered Kingdom Hearts completely. The thin beam of light suddenly started to get bigger and brighter and, within seconds, covered the entire battlefield.

A flash of light and Yen appeared on a dark road. Yen looked around hopefully at the familiar sight, but soon realized something was wrong.

"No...", he said, looking around at this dark and empty world which was once his home.  
The Realm of Light was now a _realm of darkness_.

_"Years from now, when our time is little more than a fairy tale, one of Galanort's descendants will try to spread darkness everywhere. You have to find the Chosen One, Yen!"_, Yen recalled Saito's words and that was when he realized what Saito meant.  
"_...when our time is little more than a fairy tale"._  
"No", Yen mumbled, dropping to his knees.  
"DAMN IT SAITO!", Yen yelled at the top of his lungs. A part of him wishing someone, at least _someone_, had heard him, but there was nothing but the sound of heavy rain.

After a while, Yen's wish was granted, but not in the way he expected.  
A huge monster, perhaps the size of a building arose out of the ground in front of him. Giant, glowing yellow eyes, a huge,heart-shaped hole in it's chest (Darkside).  
Yen stayed on his knees. He pulled out the Wayfinder Anna had made for him.  
"Anna, I'm sorry. I probably won't be able to fulfill my promise", he said, clutching it against his chest.

The giant monster raised it's large fist, ready to strike as Yen braced himself. Suddenly the Wayfinder started to glow brightly.  
It shot out of Yen's hand and straight into the creature's fist.  
Yen was amazed at how something so small had stopped the monster's fist so easily. The Wayfinder grew brighter and soon the monster's arm started to shatter like it was made of glass. In a few seconds the entire monster exploded into dark smoke as a large pink heart flew up into the sky and disappeared.

The Wayfinder floated back into Yen's hand and the glow faded away.  
"Anna", he muttered as his mind went on to recall how he had first met her, their first date and how difficult it was to say good-bye.  
Yen looked up at the dark, rainy sky, clutching the Wayfinder.

_"Yen, did you know there are as many worlds out there as there are people in every world? In each of those worlds, there is a version of you that is different from all the others and each fights for his happiness, but it's only the ones who keep trying that find their answers lying amongst the stars",_ Master Oraka's words echoed in Yen's head.

_ "Anna, when I've done what I'm supposed to, I will find a way to come back to you...I promise..."_

**Author's note:** Thank you for reading ^_^  
And please, if you feel there were things missing in the story i would like to be told about it. Like I said at the beginning I'm looking to improve and would appreciate being told what's wrong with this story.  
To be fairly honest, I started to get doubts about this story quite a while ago and so I posted it here hoping that someone would point out the flaws in this story so that I could do better next time...


End file.
